Hank Sauer

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT HANK SAUER - PAGE 3

1924: Reliever Emil Yde of the Pittsburgh Pirates doubled in the ninth inning to tie the score against the CUBS and then tripled in the 14th to win the game. 1937: Augie Galan of the CUBS became the first National League switch-hitter to hit home runs from both sides of the plate as the Cubs beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 11-2. 1950: The CUBS' Hank Sauer hit two home runs and two doubles to pace the Cubs to an 11-8 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Today's Birthdays: Carlos Delgado 26; Michael Tucker 27; Billy Wagner 27; Aaron Sele 28; Mike Stanley 35.

My love for the Cubs goes back to the days when Hank Sauer was the Mayor of Wrigley Field. It seems that in all that time, the only thing the Cubs lead the league in is excuses: goats, wind blowing in, cheap owners, Bartman, day baseball, Wrigley Field, black cats, wind blowing out, etc. Last year, when the Cubs collapsed in the last two weeks of the season, it was a boombox. And this year it's the old reliable: injuries. It's time for Cubs players to look in the mirror to see what the problem is.

Steven Jeffrey Huber, suddenly, beloved son of Jeff (Patricia) Huber and Joanne (Phillip) Krajecki; dear grandson of Louise (the late Hank) Sauer and the late Jerome F. and the late Jean Huber; dear brother of James S. Huber and Kelly Krajecki; fond nephew, cousin and friend to many. Visitation Tuesday, 10 a.m. until time of service at 11 a.m. at Cumberland Chapels, 8300 W. Lawrence Ave., Norridge. Interment Acacia Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to American Lung Association, 1440 Washington Blvd.

As a longtime Cubs fan I must respond to reader Tom Lindstrom's outrageous reference to Mark Grace as a possible "Mr. Cub" (Other Views, July 8). Such attempted characterization is not only an insult to Ernie Banks, who deservedly is and always will be "Mr. Cub," it is also insulting to Hank Sauer, the "Mayor of Wrigley Field," and all-time greats such as Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Ferguson Jenkins and Ryne Sandberg. Even to begin to compare Grace with these legends is ludicrous.

- 1932: Gene Sarazen wins the U.S. Open with a 286 score, the lowest in 20 years. - 1948: Joe Louis knocks out Jersey Joe Walcott in 11th round at New York to defend his heavyweight title. Louis announces his retirement after the fight. - 1950: Hank Sauer hits two home runs and two doubles to pace the Cubs to an 11-8 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. - 1953: The White Sox employ five first basemen-including winning picher Billy Pierce-in a 4-2 victory that completes a three-game sweep of the first-place Yankees in New York.

PITTSBURGH -- Manager Mike Quade was considering some lineup changes for Wednesday's game, but after watching the Chicago Cubs hit six home runs and knock out 21 hits in Tuesday's 11-6 win over the Pirates, he opted for the status quo. The Cubs hit six home runs in the first four innings for only the second time in history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time it happened was on May 31, 1954 against St. Louis at Wrigley Field, and the home run hitters were Ernie Banks, Hank Sauer (2)

While very much enjoying Wes Smith's article "Talking a good game," I was miffed at the upstaging and shortchanging of Bill Nicholson, the Cubs` power-hitting right-fielder in the `40s. Nicholson was showered with packets of chewing tobacco after hitting a home run long before Hank Sauer came on the scene. And far more remarkable than his almost reaching the centerfield scoreboard at Wrigley Field with one of his homers was an incident in a game at the Polo Grounds, the home of the New York Giants.

1937: Augie Galan of the Cubs became the first NL player to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in a game as the Cubs beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 11-2. 1950: Chicago's Hank Sauer hit two home runs and two doubles to pace the Cubs to an 11-8 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. 1968: Bobby Bonds, in his first major league game with the San Francisco Giants, hit a grand slam off Los Angeles' John Purdin. 1998: Sammy Sosa broke the major league record for homers in a month, hitting his 19th of June leading off the seventh inning of the Cubs' 6-4 loss to Detroit.